Traffic routes for the immersion of Ganpati idols

Ganesh idol being taken in a procession for its final journey before it is immersed in water on the day of Anant Chaturthi

Have you ever wondered what becomes of the beautiful statues of Lord Ganesh once the 10-day long festival is over? small, large, household and huge pandal idols of Lord Ganesha are immersed in a body of river, lake or sea. The process is also called as Ganpati visarjan. Today, the city alone will witness the immersion of more than 150,000 statues of Lord Ganesha. If you are wondering how to plan your day and not to miss on the fanfare of Ganpati visarjan in Mumbai; we tell you everything that you need to know in our Mumbai Ganesh visarjan guide.

Mumbai Police up and ready for Bappa's security
Ahead of the Anant Chaturthi, the Mumbai Police has deployed 52 thousand police personnel to look after the 162 immersion points across Mumbai. The Mumbai Police have also beefed up security measures and deployed additional security forces to ensure that the immersion of Ganesh idols is carried out smoothly. Besides 5 thousand CCTV surveillance cameras, the police will also monitor the immersion of Ganpati idols through drones. The Drones have been deployed at Girgaum Chowpatty, Juhu Chowpatty, Shivaji Park, and Lalbaug.

3200 traffic personnel and more than 1500 traffic wardens have been deployed across the city. The traffic police have also set up control rooms at five major immersion spots: Girgaum Chowpatty, Juhu Chowpatty, Shivaji Park, Ganesh Ghat in Powai and Bada Masjid in Bandra The Mumbai police has also sought help from swimmers, lifeguards, and the coast guard to avoid any drowning during the immersion process.

A staggering 6455 Sarvajanik Ganesh pandals will be conducting the visarjan on September 23. 53 roads have been closed for vehicular traffic, 56 roads are one-way while 99 roads are no parking spots. No heavy vehicles will be allowed on 18 roads in Mumbai.

The Mumbai Police via its Twitter handle has been informing and updating citizens about the latest traffic developments and routes of Ganesh Visarjan in Mumbai. The handle yesterday tweeted a nostalgic video of Ganpati visarjan and police bandobast in olden times. The tweeted: While farewell to Ganpati has always been extremely emotional and special for citizens, for us the focus has always been ensuring their safety during the festivity! A glimpse of Ganpati Visarjan and police bandobast in olden times.

Route Maps
For the smooth process of Ganpati visarjan, Mumbai Police has divided the traffic routes into three separate parts - a route for immersion processions, a route for the public who is returning from immersion points, and regular traffic routes. Detailed maps with diversions and updates are made available by the Mumbai police twitter handle 'Mumbai Police'.

Popular Visarjan Locations
The final immersion of Lord Ganesha is truly a wonderful sight to capture and live with! If you want to witness the immersion of the largest and most famous Ganesh statues such as Lalbaug Cha Raja, Ganesh Galli Cha Raja etc. then you need to head to Girgaon Chowpatty on Marine Drive in South Mumbai. Juhu Beach and Versova Beach in the western suburbs is another popular place to witness immersion of small and big Ganpati idols.

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